DANIELDANIELLESSONS IN EXILELESSONS IN EXILE

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Daniel 1:1-2, Psalm 137

We step onto the scene of Daniel and events we are expected to know the background information to are immediately referenced. “In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it” (Dan. 1:1). The context would already be set in the mind of the original readers. We join the story as a people go into exile, and it’s a specific exile that happened at a specific time to a specific group of people.

The story is told in 2 Kings 24. It’s easy for us to take these statements and look at them as simply historical records, like referencing the War of 1812 or the Spanish-American war. It is important to remember that for the people of Daniel, this point in time conjures up a particular set of emotions and ideas. This was a very hopeless time for many of them. They would have remembered losing loved ones—children, parents, and lovers would have all been taken, killed, or pillaged during the siege. This was a brutal time to be alive.

It’s imperative to read the entire book of Daniel with this context in mind. The book is being written to people in exile by people in exile. These passages are not merely stories that are important to keep telling. In fact, in the traditional Hebrew organization of the scriptures, the Book of Daniel is lumped in the same section as the wisdom literature. Given its context, it would seem to fit better in the resistance literature category or wise words for exiles rather than just stories about exiles. The story doesn’t even present itself in chronological order. So as we travel through this book, we will look for what the author of Daniel was trying to communicate to the people in exile, who would have read this and held this dear to their heart. Why was the Book of Daniel put in the Hebrew Scriptures, but I and II Maccabees, also historical records, were not? What made Daniel different?

It seems that in setting the stage, the author is calling to mind the images of the siege and destruction of Jerusalem to remind the exiles what happened and begin to answer the question, “Where do we go from here?” These people are hopeless, and it seems that their God has lost. They are far from home, families are torn apart, the temple was plundered and is in ruins, and many thought YHWH abandoned them.

One of the first indicators toward the main ideas of Daniel appears in verse 2. The author argues

INTRO: ON

BABYLON

AND EXILE

INTRO: ON

BABYLON

AND EXILE

Detail of a lion found along the processional way from Ishtar Gate into the city of Babylon. The Ishtar Gate was constructed around 575 BC by King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon, made of fired bricks and decorated with animals made in glazed bricks.

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ADDITIONAL TEXTS TO READ:

2 Kings 24

Genesis 11

Isaiah 10:5-34

1 Peter 2:11-17

that it was YHWH who delivered them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. The argument is pushing against the idea that all hope is lost. The author aims to point out to them that it was not because the Babylonian gods were so powerful that YHWH lost. It was not because God had abandoned them that they lost. Instead, as the prophets have long been telling them, God was dealing with the wickedness and the sin of the people of Jerusalem and used Nebuchadnezzar to accomplish his purposes, as we see in Isaiah 10. They lost their homes and were sent into exile due to their wickedness. This is the Day of the Lord come against his rebellious people.

Nebuchadnezzar further caused an affront to the people of God by removing the sacred vessels from the temple and relocating them. Where they end up is a significant location for the framing of the story. Some translations say the items were taken to Babylonia.

This is true, but they miss an important setting point given by the author. The items were taken to Shinar. The readers in exile would have recalled a foundational story to the Jewish people, which also occurred in the plains of Shinar—the story of the Tower of Babylon (Tower of Babel). The sacred things dedicated to God are taken back to the place where God scattered the people in their rebellion against him.

These sorts of events would likely be traumatic for the people of Israel. One of the ways we can get insight into the mind of how the people of God dealt with these tumultuous times is through the songs they sang and left for us in the Book of Psalms.

Books 4 and 5 of the Psalms (Ch. 90-150) are primarily Songs of the Exile. They would use the Psalms to draw near to God and call to memory who

he is and what he has done while they had no physical Temple in which to do this. One such song that addresses the particular events around the time of Daniel is Psalm 137. Be sure, as we study this book, to regularly incorporate the reading of Psalm 137 and many similar Psalms into your study of Daniel.

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SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS

1. We all experienced a major change in our lives these past two years. What has been the biggest change for you?

2. What was it like not being able to worship God in community?

3. Are there times where you feel that as a Christian, there is a dissatisfaction with the world as it is? Why?

4. In Hebrews 4, we are told that the promised land we are looking forward to is being with Christ. How do we live differently knowing that our hope is in a future reality rather than our present reality?

5. What reasons do we have to do good in the world where we find ourselves?